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I purchased OPI LPH a while back, but (like many of my other polishes) I never used it. I don’t know how many hot pink bottles of nail polish I have, but at first glance they all look the same. What’s the difference then? This deep, bright pink has a very subtle pearl sheen to it. The formula is thin, not too thick and with one coat it can be a little sheer. With two coats you get opaque coverage. At first I wasn’t sure if I wanted to use a bright pink at the end of January, but I was getting tired of the dark winter colors and I can’t wait for Spring. One thing I will say–if you’re passing by a huge collection of pink polishes that all look the same, don’t think to yourself, “I already have a color like that.” My advice, stop and open the bottle. I like to check out the polish. I usually pull the brush out a little bit and look for 3 things:

The consistency–How fast does it run off the brush?

The finish–Is it cream? Is it pearl? Does it have glitter?

The opacity-How much of the brush itself can I actually see?

If there is a sign that says “don’t open polish” do it really fast (LoL) because no one likes dupes.

OPI Gold Shatter…What’s to say about gold shatter?…

At first I was nervous applying this one as well. I haven’t used it since I bought it and I was afraid it wouldn’t shatter because it was old. I shook it up really well and gave it a go and I remembered why I highly anticipated this shatter. Gold shatter does more than just add a shattered texture to your nails, but it adds a nice little sparkle. I like the bright pink, but I LOVE the sparkle in the shatter. In fact it’s taking me a while to type this post because I can’t stop watching the shatter glisten in this lighting. hahah.

If you guys love OPI as much as I do, you know that OPI has green colored barcodes at the bottom of their bottles. Have you ever seen black barcodes, like this…

Some would say it is a fake, but I’m going to tell you that it isn’t. If you guys are big OPI lovers like me you know why one is black and the other is green.

Ok so how do I know that it’s not a fake? Mostly because I know this was purchased at Ulta. It might not say much because people can buy nail polish from anywhere these days and return fake ones to just about anywhere. But you can see the color code is the same (NL M28). You can examine the colors and compare them and there is going to be a very,very slight difference

AND OPI has their wonderful pro wide brush, but when you open the bottle with the black label, there is no pro wide brush.

So how can I say it’s not a fake? Because it’s not. =)

Back in 2006, OPI changed their nail lacquer formula to no longer contain DBP (dibutyl phthalate) and formaldehyde. Why? DBP is used to increase the fluidity/ plasticity of the material it is added too. sounds ok right? But what you don’t know is that DBP was listed as possible teratogen–what the heck does that mean? Teratogens have the ability to cause birth abnormalities. =X

Other nail lacquers contained not only DBP and formaldehyde, but it also contained toluene–which has fumes that can negatively effect your brain. So why am I telling you this? Before the fall of 2006 OPI contained DBP and formaldehyde and their labels were black ORIGINALLY. Since changing to a “Three Free” brand, OPI has changed their labels to green.

Because they had to change the formula to make it more safe for the population, the colors have slightly changed as well.

Here is the most current form of Los Cabos Coral in two coats. It is a nice creamy coral with a soft/subtle shimmer.

Here is the old formula of Los Cabos Coral in two coats. You can see it is not as creamy/opaque as the new formula, therefore having a slightly lighter tone. Another characteristic I noticed is that it had a little bit more shimmer.

Here are the two right next to each other. The one on the left is the newest formula and the right is the older formula. You might not be able to notice that much of a difference, but it’s there.

Am I saying that you should throw your old bottles away as biohazards and blah blah blah…No. I would just say use cautiously. =) I wouldn’t repaint your nails every single day and stick your nose over the opening and take a huge whiff, that would just be asking for trouble!

I topped this cute color with some OPI Gold shatter and called it a day!

OPI was asked over and over and over for a gold shatter. EVEN THOUGH, Sephora by OPI has Gold Blasted, which I’ve already reviewed. I didn’t really like the color of the Gold Blasted so I returned it, but OPI Gold Shatter is amazing.

First I painted my nail with China Glaze Refresh Mint.

I like this color, but I wasn’t in the mood for something so bold so I took it down a notch with OPI Sparkle Teal Sunrise.

I love anything that sparkles. =)

And then I went and covered it up…

By comparing Gold Shatter to Gold Blasted, I could tell you that the shatter was thinner and was more shimmery (which I absolutely love) Too bad I didn’t have a chance to take a picture in the sun, then you could see the full potential of this shatter.

I also liked Sally Hansen’s Gold Crackle. It’s a lighter color than Gold Shatter which is what I like about the Sally Hansen formula.

Here are the two together. The one on the left is OPI and the one on the right is SH. Which one do you like better?